First Post / Potential Owner

[Catweazle]

Evening all,

My name’s Stu and I’m not far from Gloucester (although I’m actually a Londoner)

I’m considering buying a Minor van or pickup to use as my daily drive so I thought dropping by the owners’ club would be a good idea.

I do know my way around a set of spanners but I’ve never owned a Morris Minor.

Would appreciate any sharing of wisdom in terms of “is this a viable daily driver?” / spares availability / worthwhile upgrades / model years to seek out or avoid.

Thanks in advance,

All the best,

Stu

[svenedin]

I think one of the best things you could do is to join the MMOC even if you do not yet own a Morris Minor. It is not expensive to join and you would then receive the club magazine. You could then go to some local branch meetings and have face-to-face chats with long term owners. You could also attend some car shows and talk to the owners in front of their cars. Of course, Winter is not the show season and many owners put their cars into hibernation for the Winter.

I have owned a Tourer for 35 years since I was 17 and it was my first car and the car that I learned to drive in. For years it was my "daily driver" and incredibly it only once broke down beyond the point that I could not fix it at the roadside (failed gearbox). This daily driving experience included years in Scotland, regularly driving from Edinburgh to the Borders in Winter. Things have changed since then though. There is a lot more traffic, the traffic is faster and everyone seems in so much more of a hurry. I am not sure that I would want my Morris to be my only car now although it is fine for local trips. Having said that, I have driven my Morris to Germany albeit slowly and using a lot of oil!

I do use my Morris year round, it never goes into hibernation but if the weather is foul I will usually drive my modern car in preference as I don't like getting my old rust bucket wet.

I cannot give advice on vans or pickups as they are not my thing at all and in all honesty, I do not see the attraction but they do have a devoted following.

All the Best,


Stephen

[King Kenny]

Hi Stu. Of course a well maintained Minor can be used as a daily ride. I bought my Traveller in 1979 and used it virtually every working day until I retired twelve years ago. I still take her out now and then. Only twice in all those years did she let me down. Once when the gearbox seized and once when a half shaft broke. Parts ar easy. Upgrades, only if you feel the need apart from front disk brakes that I would recommend. All years are good. Go for it young man, what have you got to loose?

[myoldjalopy]

If you are up for it, and you get a decent, solid vehicle that has been maintained to ensure reliability, it can be great. My Minor is my only car, but I don't use it every day, nor do I normally do long journeys. I have used a minor as an everyday car in the past though, clocking up to 12,000 miles a year or more. They do need a lot of regular maintenance, so be prepared to spend some time on servicing. They are vintage vehicles and cannot be compared to modern cars in terms of being an owner.
Sometimes, people have come on here all enthusiastic after getting a Minor, only to disappear again when they find a series of problems, when their enthusiasm melts away. Buy carefully, because unless you are truly looking for a restoration project, you don't want to buy a vehicle that needs a lot of money spent on it to make it good and reliable. These old cars do have their limitations so do your research first so that you can then make an informed decision. Vans and pick-ups are great, but quite specialised - very useful for transporting stuff, but not so great as passenger vehicles.

[Catweazle]

Thanks all,
That’s given me a bit to think about. I reckon I’ll join the club and go to a couple of events before jumping in with both feet

[rocco]

It's all very sensible to join the club and think it over for months but ultimately, in my opinion, if you want one - buy one.

A van is not going to be much different to drive than a traveller and I think they make a great daily driver. Something a little different, reliable once built well and maintained and with the benefit of being tax & MOT exempt, cheap to insure and quite economical on fuel too.

If I was going to buy another one for daily use, I'd buy the absolute best one I could find and spend a lot of money on it. In the long run, a good solid engine/car will end up being cheaper and spend less time off the road being repaired.